“There’s just too much brain-dead partisanship, tactical maneuvering for short-term political advantage rather than focusing on the greater good, and also just strident ideology. The extremes of both parties have to be willing to accept compromises from time to time to make some progress because some progress for the American people is better than nothing, and all too often recently, we’ve been getting nothing.”

But he also said…

“The people who are just rigidly ideological, unwilling to accept practical solutions somewhere in the middle, vote them out, and then change the rules so that the sensible people who remain can actually get the job done. The president I know is desperately trying to accomplish this. Congress needs to listen and the American people need to help with this process.”

Bayh could have landed a broadside on Obama’s ship by saying nothing about him, and yet he made a point to mention Obama as on the right side of this fight.

Meanwhile, Obama’s Gallup numbers have been steadily increasing reaching their highest levels in a few months. Reagan’s numbers were worse and Clinton’s were the same at this time in both their presidencies. Just saying…

Also, in case you’re buying the “Dems will lose the majority” meme, there are 5 Dem Senators and 6 Repub Senators retiring this year.

(Psst…the real reason Bayh quit? He’s going to run for President in 2016 and he can’t appear to be post-partisan while governing in the current environment. You heard it here first.)

32 Responses to “Evan Byah Gives Obama Cover During Exit”

Justin a couple of weeks ago Evan Bayh with the support of President Obama put together a bi-partisanship commission to lower the deficet which was support by Republicans John McCain Kit Bond and Susan Collin, they vote against it because of wingnuts like Gover Norquist and Michelle Malkin threaten their support. Now even though Kit Bond is retiring and Susan Collins won re-election in 2008 John McCain is in a tough primary against J.D. Hayworth. The point being is that both the extreme right & left have taken control of narrative of these politicians to the point that nothing can get done in Washington.

2016 is a good bet; Bayh will still be young at what, 56? So why decide to resign now rather than after the next election? Because he is also an alternative centrist Democrat that could run in 2012 if the wheels come off the bus of the Obama administration (the LBJ effect). Its unlikely that a moderate Democrat can get through the primaries, but he has a shot. Clinton is also in that camp, with better liberal bonfides, and its the reason some rumors floated that Hillary will leave Sec. of State after the mid-term elections.

Its an unlikely scenario; President Obama is likely to hold on to the nomination easily, even if he faces a tough challenge by some Republican not yet on the scene. There are some that say that Republican could be … Evan Bayh. The GOP could do worse than having Bayh in its camp.

Bayh said he was leaving because of the toxic atmosphere, so if you believe him, I guess you would report that. Its a shame, because we need more moderates rather than less of them in the Senate. Even for the GOP, it removes a man who wasn’t afraid to reach across the aisle to work on issues, and he could have been a key bipartisan player as the Senate moves toward a more evenly divided chamber rather than the extreme majority that is now represented there.

The democratic party has been taken hostage by the progressive element. Acorn, Seiu, Michael Moore, Moveon.org types who are demanding reforms that penalize business so that they can establish the class system that no longer exists in America.

The class of progressives who preach to us that AGW is real and were all going to die unless we transfer trillions to poor countries and penalize coal and gas and oil industry for their gluttonous and wanton destruction of the world.

The class of progressives who want the government to take over health care with a public option and universal health care which will cost the tax payers at the minimum 1.5 trillion dollars per year on top of an already staggering 1.5 trillion dollar deficit……forcing the US citizenry to come up with 3 trillion dollars in new taxes or premiums……….of course the top 5 percent can pay that…..they are rich.

The class of progressives who marched in the streets with Bush is Hitler signs screaming obscentities and then Alinskize the Tea Baggers for doing the same thing back to them.

The class of progressives who believe that emulating a failing and failed Europe is more appealing and stirs intellectual elitism to the extent that those who disagree with their views of how the citizens of this country should be governed are to be CUT out of the process.

To name a few progressives in our federal government on the democratic side right now would be easy…..put their names on a big dart board and start throwing darts and you will most likely hit a progressive 7 out of 10 times.

As much as the progressive left rails against the Religious right that took over and controlled the GOP for years….the left has allowed the progressive element of their party to finally succeed in taking over the Democratic party.

It most likely will take years for them to be forced to back down and accept more moderate and more mainstream policies.

It is why many are screaming for a public option thru reconcilliation. They continually bang the drum and pretend Mass. did not happen. They pretend that New Jersey and Virginia did not happen. They do not care about the costs…….only the result. Its the most liberals gone wild……..pure and simple.

It is a true shame that people like Evan Byah who is not a particulary dominant politican but who has certainly shown a disposition for bipartisanship to be a casualty of the toxic battle between extremes.

Its time we get our demons out in the open. The Neocons, Religious Right and Christian Coalistion has been duly Alinskized. Now its the progressive lefts turn to expose their moonbattery.

And thats precisely what they are doing led by Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and now this:

Four Democratic senators — including two in tough reelection battles — sent a letter Tuesday to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging him to bring the public insurance option back up for a vote.

And of course we have this……….

Bennet took the lead in the Senate to round up co-signers for the letter, which was spearheaded by the PROGRESSIVE Change Campaign Committee, Democracy for America and Credo Action. A similar effort in the House netted 119 signers to a letter.

Like I said you can just about throw darts at their names on a wall and hit a progressive on the Democratic side of the Isle.

Four Democratic senators — including two in tough reelection battles — sent a letter Tuesday to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging him to bring the public insurance option back up for a vote.

This does not strike me as a “fringe” position in any meaningful sense. I would hazard a guess that about 60% to 2/3 of democratic congresscritters would like to see a public option. And I would hazard a further guess that about 1/3 to 45% of Americans also wants it.

Currently, it seems to me that a noticeable but far from overwhelming majority of Americans does NOT favor this public option. That doesn’t make it a fringe notion. I am sure that the idea (or a much stronger version of it) is favored by the kookier fringe of the left. But there are PLENTY of regular folks who really do want this new entitlement for the safety and peace of mind it will bring them should they fall on really hard times and/or have serious health problems.

That’s why I always find stuff like this so very far off the mark:

the progressive element … who are demanding reforms that penalize business so that they can establish the class system that no longer exists in America.

Healthcare and currently proposed reforms are quite obviously a class issue. Right now. Today. One that most folks with middle class income (at or above the median) and currently acceptable health insurance premiums would prefer to ignore.

IMO any acceptable Republican/conservative answer to the healthcare issue has to include a compelling explanation for how to provide legitimate access to non-emergency care for low-income Americans. And that answer must be more than “work harder to become middle class.” It must also be more than “revise the tax code etc yo push more low income Americans into the zone where they perceive that they are sorta getting by.”

While there are certainly people who make noise on the fringe, it is ridiculous to assert the Democratic Party has been taken over by this group.

The progressives have not achieved on single goal that I can think of, but you say they have taken over the party. Wouldn’t they have gotten something? Anything?

The far left wing of the party is pissed off, but they are not in control. Reid has actually blocked the far left on multiple occassions; and the support of Pelosi has been noticeably missing from just about everything.

That’s why the right wing noise machine, which has taken over the GOP, btw, is so insane. They fantasize about the left, which couldn’t even pass a bill confirming the sky is blue if it wanted to, while ignoring the state of it’s own party where the fringe element is so deeply in control that there have actually been serious discussions about a Marriage Protection Ammendment!

About the only real criticism you can make about Pelosi is that she allowed a boatload of earmarks into the stimulus bill. Heck, I was outraged about it, but the real truth is this was a payoff to the Democrats who couldn’t get jack for the last 8 years while the GOP raped federal coffers for all kinds of pet projects.

When you talk about a fringe taking over a party, look to the GOP; the Democratic Party is mosly controlled by the centrists and that is infuriating the left. Have no illusions…the far left is not only not in control, they are almost irrelevent.

I never said Fringe. I never even said extreme….If you choose to classify them as fringe or extreme then that is your choice and not found in any wording I put in my post.

Wait for it….

That does not make them insane, or babbling idiots or evil people. That simply makes them who they are……….moderate pretenders with an aggressive far left agenda.

OK. Then simply substitute “aggressive far left” for “fringe.” IMO, this doesn’t change the gist of my post by one single iota. When someone says “far” left or “far” right, my assumption is that they are referring to the fringe, because the fringe is far from the middle. This is simple english syntax.

I don’t believe that any group that comprises well more than a third can meaningfully be described as “far” anything. It strains credulity. And here’s the thing you just can’t get around: to want a public option included in healthcare reform is a position that a substantial portion of mainstream Americans wants. Cheerfully granted, there is currently a somewhat more substantial portion of the mainstream that doesn’t want it.

Simply put, the disagreement about whether or not to have a public option is a disagreement among mainstream Americans as well as the fringes. Any number of opinion polls bears this out. So I think you’re just wrong.

I think that the implicit logical hypothesis in Jacob’s post is quite clear, which is that some other folks in this thread are using name-calling and name-dropping (Alinsky) to dismiss or invalidate others views, and that it’s a poor substitute for rational argument.

I agree with Jacob here.

And notice how easy the thread has devolved along those lines. How about rule 1 at donklephant? Be nice.

Care to list a few examples where teh Democratic majority can be identified as extreme?

Now I proceeded to list those that I felt fell under the guidlines he/she laid out for the basis of the question. I listed the progressive movement which I hypothesize as hard left…..aggressive left and they are 1/3rd of the democratic party which qualifies for your qualifier.

Im still having a hard time though understanding why Im even talking to you. She asked for a response.

Yes they are my fears. They are an agenda I disagree with and so does the majority of the American public including a substantial amount of the democratic party.

The fact that the democrats are turning on each other as we speak bares me out and it does very little injustice to people who call me names on this site because I simply speak the non progressive truth.

To be honest….I have probably voted for more democrats in my lifetime then I have Republicans. I was a Hillary Clinton supporter. I voted for Bill Clinton TWICE.

Remember my friend. Remember the primaries just a year and a half ago…….remember the contention? Remember the split in the party.

Remember the Democrats coming together and saying…..Obama is better then any Republican…….

Do you guys have such short memories that you have forgotten that their are many, many millions of democrats that held their noses when they pulled that handle for Obama and his well known progressive agenda?

That attitude still prevails and because he is failing miserably the far left is angry with him for not forcing their wills on the people. The Clinton Democrats are angry with him because he is not Hillary who would have no doubt done a much better job by now then he has done.

But Its FOX news fault…..

Right…….perhaps you guys need to look in a mirror and realize that the reason I seem so far right is because YOU guys are so far left.

Oh, I do consider it–all the time. There is little doubt I am farther to the left than I have been previously in my life, but this is after 30 years of largely GOP rule that showed the party’s policy are counter productive to the majority of the people.

I can also see the difference between far-left rhetoric that has little or no bearing on the ACTION of the party. The same can not be said on the right, though.

Everything about you–your name DOOMED, your fears, your philosophy, your political leanings–shows a person who is so innundate by the rightwing noise machine that you believe all the untruths.

The sad tragedy is that when you’re on the far right, neither your greatest fears or best dreams are ever truly realized. Your fears because they are largely fantasy cooked up by the right wing noise machine to control you, and your dreams because if they ever give into your wishes of no abortion, a constitutional ban on gay marriage, etc they will lose the carrot that keeps you in thrall when you’re not being afraid.

In 30 years of GOP rule did you get anything other than the occassional little bone? You just had a right-wing Supreme Court give corporations unfettered political speech…and they cannot outlaw abortion?

C’mon. If you’re voting for the GOP you’re just a tool to futher the aims of the wealthy elites. The real sad part is that this yearhas shown the Dems are not much different.

Ok Doomed. You had seemed to be addressing me, or at least speaking to one of my previous posts. I think my last points endure.. Again, my perception is that disagreements over things such as the public option in healthcare reform are mainstream disagreements.

In other words, among any group of regular American folks who don’t hold particularly extreme views, you will find close to an even split about whether or not the public option is a good idea. Somewhat more folks may be opposed, but not that many.

If you asked 100 mainstream americans, you’d probably get a fiftysomething-to fortysomething tally. Do you disagree with that? First and foremost, I’d love an honest answer to that question, should you choose to respond.

I am trying to figure out where you are coming from. You oppose what you view as a progressive threat to America. And I respect that. What concerns me is that you insist that the people you disagree with are FAR left. I am suggesting that many of the people you disagree with are regular everyday american folks who live in your town, on your street, and possibly even include some friends and family.

They’re not “far” anything, Except for maybe “far-worried-about-the-future.” Just like you and me, right? I’m asking you to at least entertain this hypothesis.

I don’t even know where to start with your post. You begin by trash talking my choice of names in DOOMED and then progress to the standard talking points against far right wing loons based upon the fact that I somehow am terrified because I used a handle of DOOMED on a website.

KrankyKritter.

People I disagree with are those spouting progressive ideals. When I hear someone telling me how evil corporations are and when I see the democratic party DEMONIZE healthcare Insurance companies in order to try and get their agenda passed…………thats not liberal policy…………..thats progressive radicalism…..

Plain and simple. The insurance company climbed on board with Obama and said….hey lets get something done and then were knifed in the back………had Hillary been in charge you can bet that we would have health care right now.

It would not be pleasing to the progressives but we would have health care reform already accomplished with 270 house members and 60 senate seats.

The progressive agenda STINKS……its to far left……..I dont like it. The people pushing it are not evil……they are not loons…..but they are too far left to think rationally in my opinion.

Among any group of regular American folks who don’t hold particularly extreme views, I think you will find close to an even split about whether or not the public option is a good idea as part of healthcare reform. Somewhat more folks may be opposed, but not that many.

If you asked 100 mainstream americans, you’d probably get a fiftysomething-to fortysomething tally. Do you disagree with that? First and foremost, I’d love an honest answer to that question, should you choose to respond.

So which is it, do you think a public option is “far left,” policy, or do you acknowledge that its an idea that part of the American mainstream wants?

Oh and doomed? For what it’s worth, I agree with you that many of the ideas of progressives on the farther left are misguided and unrealistic and even wrong, But I don’t find Obama to be even remotely in thrall to these folks, and I don’t find the democrats’ views on healthcare as manifested in the current bill to be especially radical in any meaningful sense.

The only issue on which I think democrats and Obama are perhaps too generous towards the progressive agenda is the issue of environmental policy, specifically cap and trade. And notice that Obama and the rest of the democrats are hitting hard on the more defensible sensible aspects of green policy like subsidizing research and pilot efforts aimed at green jobs. One reason why that’s OK with me is that I think they realize that things like cap and trade are non-starters legislatively. I don’t think that most democrats believe that such large pie-in-the-sky progressive impositions have any chance of happening. That means that they can safely pay lip service to them, and meanwhile no substantive progress happens in congress. It just keeps getting pushed top the back burner until it dies when the session ends. “oops, ran out of time.”

So far from thinking Obama is in thrall to progressives, I think he’s picking the less radical things that make more sense, while saying vague but nice things about the rest. Maybe he’s not exactly jerking progressives around, per se. He’s simply not explicitly telling them that he thinks many of their cherished big plans are utterly unrealistic in the current environment and he won’t let his Presidency sink or swim on them. AND most importantly, he’s certainly not going to tell them that he’s not losing any sleep about it.

A public option is a far left wish list. Its the precursor to Universal health care and we as a nation cannot afford universal health care because…….

Because……we as a nation will not make hard choices. We will not give up our big military, Or deficit spending. We already have 14 trillion dollars in debt that we pay 500-600 billion a year on in interest.

We cannot afford universal health care and it does not matter how we got to this point. We are at this point and we cannot afford it.

The tea party revolution is the average man on the street pissed off at the government and right now that government is the Democrats.

Unfortunately for the Democratic party people like your selves continue to make excuses when in fact the Democrats just plain screwed the pooch because they have let the progressive element in their party rule the roost.

The Democrats right now remind me so much of the GOP when they invaded Iraq…….what the hell were they thinking…..they defended it and defended it and defended it until they looked around and their house of cards had collapsed around them and they were not nudged from power but declared dead by everyone.

Now the Democrats are doing the EXACT same thing……they are refusing to admit that they are WRONG and that the people are right.

People marching in the streets screaming Bush is a Nazi were ridiculed and boo hah hahed right up till the GOP was thrown from the train.

Now people are marching in the streets calling Obama and the democrats nazi’s and socialists and communists and the Democrats are reacting in the exact same way………

EXACT same way.

My predicition…..Nothing will get done…..November will arrive and the Progressives will be thrown from the train….because they will not admit to themselves that the people are speaking.

Speaking in NJ and Virginia and Mass and in tea parties accross the country.

Right or wrong…….Democrats OR Republicans are elected to serve ALL OF THE PEOPLE….not their wing of radical flavors and that is why they have it all wrong.

No doubt they do, but what happens when that self interest is bad for 95% of the country?

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